Ruth St. Denis - Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university. It has since become a cornerstone of Adelphi's Department of Performing Arts.
Her early works are indicative of her interests in exotic mysticism and spirituality. Many companies currently include a collection of her signature solos in their repertoires, including the programme, “The Art of the Solo,” a showcase of famous solos of modern dance pioneers. Several early St. Denis solos (including “Incense” and ”The Legend of the Peacock”) were presented on September 29, 2006, at the Baltimore Museum of Art. A centennial salute was scheduled with the revival premiere of St. Denis' "Radha," commissioned by Countess Anastasia Thamakis of Greece. The program's director, Mino Nicolas, has been instrumental in the revival of these key solos.
One of her more famous pupils was Martha Graham, who attended Ms. St. Denis' school of dance, Denishawn, that she had started with her husband, Ted Shawn. Doris Humphrey, Evan Burrows Fontaine and Charles Weidman also studied at Denishawn, and Graham, Humphrey, Weidman and the future silent film star Louise Brooks all performed as dancers with the Denishawn company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_St._Denis
Denishawn, Ruth st. Denis and Ted Shawns dance school influenced our second generation of modern dance history, as Martha Graham and Dorris Humphrey attended, and found their calling of dance in america. Dorris Humphrey created a new dance form of space dynamic and rhythmic structure. Martha Graham created a technique still used today 'contraction and release', which we perform in contemporary dance (post post modern dance).
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